


my heart's a weather vane and you're the lightening bolt (full piece)

by orphan_account



Category: Far Cry (Video Games), Far Cry 5
Genre: 2 class clowns.. Office clowns? 2 clowns trying to admit their feelings for each other., First Kiss, Getting Together, Gratuitous thunderstorm metaphors, M/M, Set before the events of Far Cry 5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:21:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25031629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "The atmosphere between them felt charged, the anticipatory air cloying, prickling the hair on Staci’s arms, moreover the closer they got to Staci’s house the more the air around them seemed to roil, charging with an expectant energy, akin to that of a storm before it hits... And Staci, in a rare instance, was at a loss for how to broach the topic, let alone act upon how he was truly feeling."Staci and Rook have some un-dealt with emotions regarding each other and they both know it can't continue on like this...**This piece was a part of 'Tales from The Bunker' Far Cry 2020 fanzine. This is the full piece which includes several key parts I couldn't include in the zine entry (due to word-count) which I think slightly changes the dynamic and interpretation of the characters.**
Relationships: Male Deputy |Judge/Staci Pratt
Kudos: 9
Collections: Far Cry Fanzine 2020





	my heart's a weather vane and you're the lightening bolt (full piece)

**Author's Note:**

> This piece was a part of 'Tales from The Bunker' Far Cry 2020 fanzine. This is the full work which is longer and closer to what I wanted the fic to be. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

The rain pattering on the patrol car roof was punctuated with the odd rumble of thunder adding a pleasing ambience to Staci’s otherwise restless thoughts; thunder storms were a rare occurrence in Hope County as such it was considered more a cause for celebration than a hindrance, this combined with the quiet country number playing on the radio was enough to disparage Staci each time he opened his mouth to break the heavy silence between him and a certain Deputy in the driver's seat beside him. The atmosphere between them felt charged, the anticipatory air cloying, prickling the hair on Staci’s arms, moreover the closer they got to Staci’s house the more the air around them seemed to roil, charging with an expectant energy, akin to that of a storm before it hits. 

Staci had yet to put a name to the heavy air that had been steadily evolving into a tempest between them, but that didn’t mean he was oblivious to the undercurrent of feelings between himself and Rook. Generally considered the office jester’s by the rest of the department they weren’t shy to crack jokes about ‘unresolved sexual tension’, ‘men in uniform’ and ‘cliched office romances’, but they always kept their thoughts light, never seriously considering taking their obvious attraction to one another further than office humour. However, with the darkened evening reducing the world around them down until it was just the two of them, the patrol car and whatever winding mountain road the lightning periodically lit up, the ever strengthening aura of emotions between them didn’t seem so funny anymore. And Staci, in a rare instance, was at a loss for how to broach the topic, let alone act upon how he was truly feeling.

As if a spell had been cast between them, the usually chatty Deputies were uncharacteristically silent during the ride, a small part of Staci had been hoping Rook would be the one to take point and address this thing between them but his good natured partner hadn’t spoken during the drive to Staci’s, only humming along with a couple of old country favourites playing on the radio. Too soon his gravel driveway came into view around a hidden bend, a small picturesque home set back from the main drag, located near the Whitetail Mountains. The patrol car pulled up with a crunch of gravel stopping just shy of the front door ensuring Staci wouldn’t have to run through the now hailing storm to get indoors; the ever considerate Rook had made sure of that, as he always did when he dropped Staci home in the rain. 

Despite the stationary vehicle Staci didn’t move to get out, instead he turned to Rook fully intending to address the tumultuous energy between them with all the gravity it warranted, swallowing hard as he pulled his lower lip into his mouth to worry at it, Staci took a deep breath to steady his mounting nerves before he finally opened his mouth to speak. Rook chose that moment to ruin Staci’s speech, raising an eyebrow, patented Deputy Rook smirk firmly plastered across his face, he snickered good-naturedly at Staci’s nervous demeanour before speaking,

“Deputy Pratt, you gonna offer me a beer or what? My evening plans don’t involve sittin’ in this cruiser all damn night so invite me in or tell me to go. Choice is yours.” Wind taken out of his sails, because this was not quite how Staci envisioned this conversation during his morning showers, his mind promptly blanked despite how hard he attempted to string a sentence together; to offer Rook a cheap beer as he had done so many times in the past, Staci barely managed to stutter out his reply,

“Uh, well, yeah... you, uh, beer? Inside? Let’s go.” It wasn’t perfect English but combined with a head tilt as he shot from the police car as fast as his legs would carry him without breaking into a full sprint, Staci decided Rook would get the message. His intuition was confirmed when he heard the slam of the driver’s side door as well as the crunch of gravel following him to the front door.

They yanked off their boots once inside before Rook headed for the living room while Staci made a detour to grab them both a beer from the fridge, on his way back he took a second to pause in the doorway immediately noting how Rook hadn’t bothered to turn on the lamp nor sprawl across the sofa like a sleepy housecat in his usual manner; always as quick to make himself at home at Staci’s as he did his own place, rather he was loitering near the coffee table a hand passing through his dark hair, repeatedly mussing it into gravity defying tufts, the periodic lightening from outside catching the little droplets of water shaken free from his attention. Staci continued into the room a little more apprehensive than he’d previously felt now he knew Rook wasn’t as nonchalant as he’d been portraying himself to be, he flicked on the lamp resting on a dusty bookcase as he made his way to the coffee table, depositing his beer as he settled on the arm of the sofa while tilting the second beer at Rook, who accepted it with a smile, quickly taking a long pull from it.

“Well we clearly need to talk about this.” Rook gestured to the space between the two of them, not needing to use words for Staci to intrinsically understand he’s referencing the increasingly volatile current tethering the two of them together. Staci nods in a manner he hopes conveys casual acceptance even as he feels a bead of sweat gather in the hairs at the nape of his neck before disappearing under the collar of his shirt, continuing a damp trail down his back. Although he understands that things can’t continue on as they have been, he's growing increasingly nervous at the idea of unpacking everything that’s been building between them for the past several months.

Staci knew Rook was prepared for any outcome. The pair of them had grown close during Rook’s time as Junior Deputy, their brash loud personalities positively complimenting each other. As such on the nights they stopped by the ‘Spread Eagle’ for a drink after a hard days work they often found themselves confiding things to each other that they’d never felt confident telling another living soul. During one such night cap Rook had easily and openly admitted that he was gay, as simple to confide as his preferred coffee order or preference for red heads, he trusted Staci with his whole being and this was no different, but Staci hadn’t been quite as forthcoming with Rook; he had very limited experience with the same gender and in all honesty hadn’t foreseen their current conversation coming around quite as suddenly as it had so hadn’t yet found the time to admit as such. Which left him flailing, like a fish on a pier. 

“I... You.. I… Fuck.. Look I’m not very good at this.” What came out of his mouth wasn’t quite as eloquent as Staci had hoped it would be, when he usually had an answer for everything tonight he found himself stumbling over every sentence. He was trying to find the right words to express his feelings, worried Rook would misinterpret his vulnerability as discomfort when that was the opposite of how he felt. It was a problem he’d been facing increasingly as the emotional furore between them had heated up, the line between camaraderie and something deeper becoming harder to distinguish. A rolling growl of thunder cut through his racing thoughts making the pair of them jump, the following lightning reflected across Staci’s wide eyes as he gazed up at Rook’s, the fondness he found there helped ease the gallop of his heart. 

Rook held his gaze, creating a reprieve from the tempest both in Staci’s mind and outside the bay window, they both took a second to re-centre as a second earth-shaking boom of thunder followed before Rook broke the silence, “Stace, chill for a second, I don’t want to upset you, I just think we need to clear the air is all.”

“I’m not panicking. I just don’t want to fuck everything up, we already have such a good thing going. You’re my best friend and my work partner, I don’t want to risk ruining anything if we add more on top of that. I’m scared if we do, then I’ll lose it all.” Staci’s reply was quick, having finally managed to wrangle his thoughts into something coherent. 

Rook’s response sounded tenderly exasperated, the way he did when he’d listened to one too many of Staci’s conspiracy theories, "This doesn’t need to be complicated, Staci, don’t overthink it. I don't want to stand here and talk about every little thing, every little brush of fingers, lingering glance or whatever, I just want to know if you care about me the way I care about you. If you're willing to give us a chance?" 

Staci knew the second he’d taken too long to reply, from where his gaze rested near his own socked feet he watched Rook’s back up a few inches, heard him sigh as he created a chasm between them. Staci’s pulse began to kick up as a sudden bolt of panic shot through him: he was fucking this up. He absolutely wanted to give them a chance but his hesitancy to be open with his emotions was ruining everything. Like he always did.

"If you don't I'm not gonna force you. I'll try to be a little more subtle about it, more professional at work, that kind of thing," Rook kept his tone polite. Amicable without being overly friendly. Very ‘you’re my coworker, I see the line, I wont cross it’. And Staci hated everything about it.

"No! No, don't do that, you know I feel the same way, or I hope you do, it's just, well, I haven't been in a relationship for a long time to be honest. I'm nervous." He’d tripped over a few of is words in his rush to get Rook to stop crucifying himself, he also recognised the the edge of annoyance that tinged his words. Staci knew he was annoyed with himself for almost ruining them before there had been a ‘them’ to ruin but he didn’t think Rook would understand so he tried to ease off the sting with a nervous laugh, although it sounded more than a little awkward he was too nervous to care.

"Aw Staci I'm not just some random guy you picked at a bar. You know me. We don't have to do anything you don't want, we can take things as slow as you need okay?" Staci’s breath left him in a relieved rush at the gentle amusement colouring Rook’s words, as well as the enamoured happiness he found in his eyes when he darted his own up awaiting Rook’s reply. He hadn’t fucked everything up, there was still a chance!

"Yeah.. Yeah. You're right and I want this, I want to try. We better not fuck this up. I don't want to lose my best friend just because you got all soft on me." He knew he was softening the pain of being vulnerable by falling back to their usual bantering but it was a start nonetheless. Rook didn’t miss a beat, moving to stand between Staci’s legs as Staci reached to thread his fingers between Rook's, a current tingling up his spine as the static brush of their skin elicited goosebumps up both their arms.

"Oh I'm sorry, who got soft on who now? Because from where I'm standing it's looks a lot like you, I'm not the one who gazes dreamily over their coffee cup at their co-worker every morning" Rook shot Staci a toothy grin before doing something ridiculous with eyebrows, Staci’s responding smile crinkled the corners of his eyes in a way that always made Rook’s grin pull even wider, as if that had been his aim from the start.

"The only way you'd know that was if you were staring at me too!" Came Staci’s indignant reply as a blush worked it’s way across the bridge of his nose.

"Uh.. let's agree to disagree." The conversation reached a natural lull, both of them taking a moment to come to terms with the latest development of their relationship, feeling embolden Staci shattered the contemplative silence,

“Deputy Rook, you gonna kiss me or what? My evening plans don’t involve me sittin’ here all damn night so kiss me or go. Choice is yours.” His cocky reference to their exchange in the car at the beginning of the night had Rook laughing even as he ducked closer, causing them to bump foreheads and noses before Rook could finish closing the distance.

Rook wore himself openly, as he did in all aspects of his life, his face clearly communicating his desire without the need to vocalise it with words, but Staci was already second guessing himself, previous enthusiasm giving way to his self-doubt about the unfamiliar situation. He’d never kissed another man before, not romantically anyhow, what if he sucked at it and Rook decided he didn’t want him anymore? He knew he was selling Rook short, that nothing so superficial would turn Rook off to him, but he couldn’t help the illogical paths his anxiety wandered down. Rook felt Staci tense, followed by his throat clicking noisily as he attempted to swallow his anxiety, which told Rook everything he needed to know about Staci’s current state of mind. So he stopped. Doing nothing to close the distance. Choosing to let Staci take point. And slowly, ever so slowly, Staci tipped his face up the rest of the way to seal their kiss.

The kiss, and it was a kiss, no merciless battle of teeth and tongues for dominance, was merely an opening brush of two meeting together as one. The caressing tidal shift of a serene sea following a typhoon, languidly drawing in close before drifting away, only to lazily return moments later. The clamorous squall that had been roiling between them broke, cooling into a unhurried halcyon. Rook slid his fingers to tangle gently in Staci’s longer hair, as Staci’s meandered along Rook’s back, memorising the plains of muscle shifting under his shirt; the din of the nights tempest all but forgotten beyond the windows as a hush seemed to blanket the world around them, sealing them in their own void of serenity. Pleasingly dazed as they gently came apart they both huffed out a quiet laugh, no more than a shared exhale, Rook gently brushed his nose up the side of Staci’s trying to gauge his temperament, Staci leaned into the attention before drawing back enough to focus on Rook’s eyes. 

“Come on Stace, wanna’ help you relax for a bit. You’ve been wound so tight tonight even my shoulders are startin’ to ache! Let me give you a massage or somethin’?” Rook spoke quietly, not wanting to break the peaceful spell that had been cast over them.

“Are you for real right now?” Staci still hadn’t let go of Rook, but he hadn’t moved to go with him either, choosing to stare at him with a mix of mild disbelief and weariness etched into the stress lines across his face, as though he was worried Rook’s question was a joke.

“Yeah of course, and hey if things go a little further you won't hear me complaining that’s for damn sure, but they don’t have to either, no pressure, I promise. Scout’s honor.” Rook held his fingers up waving a scout’s salute at Staci while managing to maintain an expression and air of complete sincerity. Staci didn’t feel the need to assure Rook that he’d always had Staci’s complete trust and faith, one of only a handful who did, he just smiled softly at him, not caring for how absolutely besotted he must appear, as he stood tugging Rook along behind him as he headed for the bedroom.

Rook stopped in front of the bed turning to face Staci, who, summoning the authoritative persona he usually reserved for work, pushed Rook back onto the bed where he landed with a surprised, rather unmanly, squeak before he’d been able to finish the first word of whatever he’d been about to say. Rook’s mouth split into a toothy grin, evidently pleased with the development, as mischief darkened his eyes he reached for Staci tugging him onto the bed with him. And that’s where they stayed well into the night.. And the following day. 

Outside the tumult raged on.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! <3
> 
> I basically set myself a challenge to write with a theme, hence the gratuitous storm metaphors, let me know your feelings/thoughts on that if you have any - good or bad, but be constructive just telling me 'this sucks' isn't useful haha.  
> Or if you had thoughts/feelings about any other aspect of the fic let me know those too.
> 
> I usually write under a different screen-name because I never wanted my fic associated with my tumblr user-name, but I have made friends with so many great people through my tumblr I'm considering using this account to start posting from, I'll need to give it some more thought. Anyway that's a long roundabout way of saying hit me up @f0xyboxes on tumblr and if you have any prompts / pairings you want a fic for drop them in my inbox.
> 
> Cheerio, have a nice night.


End file.
